Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
The software layer that directs every movement of stock inside a warehouse — from inbound receipt through put-away, pick, pack, and despatch.
What it is
About Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
A Warehouse Management System (WMS) is the software platform that orchestrates all physical operations within a warehouse or distribution centre — managing inbound receipts, put-away locations, inventory positions, pick and pack workflows, despatch, and cycle counting. The WMS knows exactly what is in the warehouse, where it is (location, bin, pallet), how much of it exists (quantity, lot, serial number), and in what condition — and it directs warehouse operatives through every task via handheld RF scanners, mobile devices, or voice-directed picking headsets. The leading enterprise WMS platforms are Manhattan Associates WMS (Manhattan Active Warehouse Management), Blue Yonder WMS (formerly JDA), Oracle Warehouse Management Cloud, and SAP Extended Warehouse Management (SAP EWM). Mid-market and SME options include Fishbowl, SkuVault, and cloud-native platforms like Mintsoft and Linnworks for e-commerce fulfilment. WMS implementations transform warehouse operations from paper-based or spreadsheet-managed stock control into a directed, location-managed, real-time system. The measurable impacts are: reduced mis-picks (the WMS directs the picker to the correct location and confirms via barcode scan before the task is marked complete), improved inventory accuracy (real-time system-of-record rather than periodic physical counts), faster throughput (directed put-away assigns optimal locations based on velocity and slotting rules; wave picking batches orders for efficient routing through pick faces), and labour productivity measurement (the WMS measures picks-per-hour, put-away time, and error rates per operative). Enterprise WMS platforms cost £100,000–£2M+ to implement; cloud WMS starts at £100–£2,000/month for SME operations. A Supply Chain Manager's primary WMS interface is inventory analytics — visibility of stock availability, location utilisation, throughput KPIs, and cycle count completion rates — rather than the operative-level directed task workflow.
What you can do with it
Capabilities
Process a goods-in receipt on a WMS using an RF scanner — scanning the inbound ASN barcode to pull the expected purchase order, scanning each pallet or carton barcode to confirm receipt quantity, flagging any discrepancy between expected and received quantity as a GRN exception, and directing the putaway task to the correct warehouse location based on the slotting rule
Run a wave pick for an e-commerce fulfilment batch — grouping 200 outbound orders into a pick wave by carrier cut-off time, running the wave release in the WMS to generate directed pick tasks, monitoring the wave progress on the supervisor dashboard, and identifying any short-picks (zero inventory at the directed location) for exception resolution before the despatch deadline
Complete a cycle count task on a specific warehouse location — scanning the location barcode to identify the system-expected stock, physically counting the items in the location, entering the count result in the WMS, reviewing the variance report, and investigating the cause of any discrepancy above the acceptable variance threshold before posting the count adjustment
Review inventory accuracy KPIs in the WMS management dashboard — examining the location accuracy percentage (number of locations where physical count matches system count), identifying the pick face locations with the highest miss-rate, and scheduling targeted counts on those locations to resolve the root cause before the mismatches affect customer orders
Configure a new put-away rule in the WMS — defining the velocity classification for a new SKU (A/B/C based on historical pick frequency), assigning the preferred pick face zone, setting the overflow location, and testing the rule by processing a test receipt to confirm the system directs the put-away to the correct zone
How to learn it
Learning Resources
Manhattan Associates product training (manh.com/training) — instructor-led and self-paced training on Manhattan Active WMS; expensive but the authoritative route for Manhattan-specific certification in one of the most-used enterprise WMS platforms
Blue Yonder University (blueyonder.com/learn) — training courses on Blue Yonder WMS; required for implementation partner certification; relevant for supply chain professionals working in Blue Yonder environments
CILT WMS and warehouse operations modules (ciltuk.org.uk) — practical warehouse operations training that includes WMS workflows without platform-specific bias; suitable for operations professionals without access to vendor training
OpenBoxes (openboxes.com) — free open-source WMS that can be installed locally or in the cloud; the best option for hands-on WMS learning without licence cost; covers receiving, put-away, picking, and inventory management workflows
Pro Tip
Slotting is the highest-return WMS configuration activity that most operations under-invest in. Slotting — assigning SKUs to the warehouse locations that minimise total picker travel distance based on velocity — can reduce pick time by 20–40% without any additional hardware or headcount. Most WMS platforms have a slotting module or a data export that lets you analyse and optimise location assignments. Review your slotting every quarter as product velocity shifts seasonally — a Christmas bestseller that is slotted at the front of the pick face in December should be relocated in February.
Skills that use this tool
Roles that use this tool
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